Print   

Code of Civil Procedure

(excerpts)

Passed on 22 April 1998, entered into force on 1 September 1998.

Part II

Organisation of Activities of Courts

Chapter 1

Judges

§ 11. Panels of county and city courts

(1) In county and city courts, judges sitting alone adjudicate civil matters in the name of the court.

(2) In the court sessions of an action, two lay judges are included in the panel of a court in addition to the judge, if:

1) this is requested by at least one party;

2) the judge considers lay judges necessary for the adjudication of the matter.

(3) Matters on petition are adjudicated by judges sitting alone.

(4) Pre-trial proceedings and preliminary hearings are conducted by judges sitting alone.

(5) Proceedings in matters pursuant to the provisions of Parts VIII, IX and X of this Code are conducted by judges sitting alone.

§ 12. Selection of lay judges

At a preliminary hearing, the court shall appoint lay judges to be summoned to the court on the basis of a list of lay judges compiled and approved pursuant to law.

§ 13. Rights of lay judges

Lay judges shall have the rights of a judge in the administration of justice.

§ 14. Panel of circuit court in adjudication of civil matters

(1) Circuit courts adjudicate civil matters collegially by way of appeal procedure unless otherwise provided by procedural law. Judges of circuit courts may perform procedural acts sitting alone unless this is contrary to the provisions of procedural law.

(2) The chairman of a circuit court has the right to include county or city judges of the same circuit in a panel of the court for the hearing of a matter by way of appeal procedure.

(3) The chairman of a circuit court or chairman of the Civil Chamber of a circuit court:

1) shall form a panel of three circuit court judges or of two circuit court judges and one county or city court judge for the adjudication of a civil matter;

2) is the presiding judge in the hearing of a matter by way of appeal procedure or shall appoint a circuit court judge as the presiding judge.

§ 15. Panel of Supreme Court in adjudication of civil matters

(1) The Supreme Court adjudicates civil matters collegially.

(2) For the adjudication of a civil matter, the chairman of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court shall form a three-member panel from the members of the Civil Chamber and is the presiding judge in the hearing of the matter. In the cases provided by law, a civil matter shall be heard by the full panel of the Civil Chamber, a Special Panel of the Supreme Court or the Supreme Courten banc.

(3) If the chairman of the Chamber does not participate in the hearing of a matter, he or she shall appoint a member of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court as the presiding judge.

§ 16. Voting in court

(1) Judges shall resolve differences of opinion which arise in the adjudication of a matter by majority vote, unless otherwise provided by this Code.

(2) If the panel of a city or county court includes lay judges, the presiding judge shall vote last in the adjudication of a matter.

(3) In a circuit court and in the Supreme Court, the judge in charge of preparation of the matter shall give his or her opinion first, unless he or she is the presiding judge in the matter, and voting shall continue according to seniority in office, starting with the most junior judge.

(4) Upon an equal division of votes, the vote of the presiding judge decides the matter. The presiding judge shall vote last.

(5) A judge does not have the right to abstain from voting or to remain undecided. If one vote is insufficient for the adjudication of a matter, the judge who maintains the minority position does not have the right to abstain from voting on any subsequent difference of opinion. He or she shall accept the opinion of the majority in the previous vote.

(6) A judge or lay judge who maintains a minority position may present a dissenting opinion.

Chapter 2

Removal

§ 17. Removal of judge and other persons taking part in proceeding

(1) A judge, lay judge, expert, interpreter or translator shall not participate in the hearing of a matter and shall be removed if he or she is directly or indirectly personally interested in the outcome of the matter or if other circumstances give reason to doubt his or her impartiality.

(2) A representative is removed on the bases provided for in § 88 of this Code.

§ 18. Bases for removal of judge

(1) A judge or lay judge shall not participate in the hearing of a matter and shall be removed if:

1) he or she has participated in a previous hearing of the matter as a witness, expert, interpreter, translator or representative;

2) he or she is a relative (parent, child, adoptive parent, adoptive child, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild), the spouse or a relative by marriage (spouse's parent, child, adoptive parent, adoptive child, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild) of a party or other participant in the proceeding;

3) the circumstances specified in subsection 17 (1) of this Code become evident.

(2) Persons who are related to each other by blood or by marriage as specified in clause (1) 2) of this section shall not be included in the same panel of a court.

(3) A lay judge shall not participate in the hearing of a matter and shall be removed if he or she is or has been in a professional, service or other dependent relationship with a party or other participant in the proceedings.

§ 19. Prohibition against repeated participation of judge in hearing of matter

(1) A judge or lay judge who participates in the hearing of a civil matter in a city or county court shall not participate in the hearing of the matter in the circuit court or Supreme Court.

(2) A judge who participates in the hearing of a matter in a circuit court shall not participate in the hearing of the matter in a county or city court or the Supreme Court.

(3) A judge who participates in the hearing of a matter in the Supreme Court shall not participate in the hearing of the matter in a county, city or circuit court.

Chapter 27

Court ruling

§ 211. Making of ruling

(1) A court ruling is a decision by which the merits of the matter are not decided.

(2) Court rulings are made by judges sitting alone. If a court makes a ruling in a court session and the panel of the court includes lay judges, the ruling shall be made collegially pursuant to the provisions of § 16 of this Code.

Chapter 31

Court judgment

§ 225. Making of judgment

(1) After hearing a matter, a court shall make a judgment.

(2) The courts make judgments on behalf of the Republic of Estonia.

(3) If a court adjudicates a matter collegially, the court judgment shall be made pursuant to the procedure provided for in § 16 of this Code. The disclosure of discussions which take place during the deliberations of judges is prohibited.

§ 230. Preparation of judgment

(1) A judgment shall be prepared in writing and shall be signed by all judges who make the judgment. If a judgment is made by voting, judges who remain in the minority may present dissenting opinions. In such case, it shall be indicated at the end of the judgment which judges maintained dissenting opinions. A summary of the dissenting opinion shall be set out after the signatures, and the judge who maintained the dissenting opinion shall sign it.

(2) Spelling and calculation mistakes in a court judgment may be corrected before the court judgment is made public. Corrections shall be attested by the signatures of the judges.

Part VII

Supreme Court Proceedings

Chapter 45

General Provisions

§ 335. Jurisdiction of Supreme Court in civil matters

The following fall within the competence of the Supreme Court:

1) the hearing of appeals filed against decisions of circuit courts in cassation proceedings;

2) the hearing of petitions for review submitted against court decisions which have entered into force;

3) the correction of court errors.

4) determination, pursuant to the procedure provided for in Chapter 48¹of this Code, of the court into whose competence the adjudication of a matter falls;

Chapter 46

Cassation Proceedings

§ 338. Right of appeal in cassation proceedings

(1) The parties and other participants in a proceeding have the right to appeal against a judgment of a circuit court to the Supreme Court in a cassation proceeding if the circuit court has applied a provision of substantive law incorrectly or has materially violated a provision of procedural law.

(2) The parties and other participants in a proceeding may file an appeal against a ruling of a circuit court if the right to file an appeal against a ruling is prescribed in this Code or if the court ruling hinders the further conduct of the proceeding.